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Many of those ICE registered vehicles are 10 or more years old. A better comparison may be to limit the comparison to vehicles of the same age as the oldest Tes

by foobar1962 4y ago

Many of those ICE registered vehicles are 10 or more years old. A better comparison may be to limit the comparison to vehicles of the same age as the oldest Tesla.

cute_boi 4y ago
Are older vehicles likely to get fire?
- xxs 4y ago
  poor maintenance would be the most common reason, e.g a lose hose. Then you have to compare the class of the vehicles, Tesla ones are likely to be the more expensive ones.
- fingerlocks 4y ago
  Yes, especially if they have old rubber fuel hoses (Volkswagen).
- tobijkl 4y ago
  Most of the car fires I have heard of are caused by incorrectly installed auxiliary components due to incorrect fuses and unsuitable cable diameters. This is a phenomenon that probably does not affect Tesla at all.
mgoetzke 4y ago
I thought that too until I (as a former/current BMW driver) saw how many new BMWs burned down. What I found most interesting is how e.g the Korea recall did not even register on any of our German newspapers or news agency in any way comparable to Tesla (there where some really small footnotes to be fair) https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/14/news/companies/bmw-korea-fire-recall/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/14/news/companies/bmw-korea-fi... https://abcnews.go.com/Business/bmw-mystery-fires-abc-news-investigation/story?id=47335778 https://abcnews.go.com/Business/bmw-mystery-fires-abc-news-i...
- kajecounterhack 4y ago
  Wait how does this anecdote change the need to compare apples to apples? Also, if anything this anecdote highlights why this comparison is so poor. What if BMWs are responsible for all the ICE car fires? Why wouldn't Tesla compare against the safest or biggest automaker's stats then, to know if they're doing well? E.g. Toyota?
  - nemothekid 4y ago
    >Wait how does this anecdote change the need to compare apples to apples? Because when you get into a car there are a lot more risks than it spontaneously combusting; and for those risks (like getting into an accident with a drunk driver), Tesla is already top of the class; almost as safe as a Volvo. So is 7 in the last four days a lot; and am I in more danger in a Tesla, when accounting for other risks? If I am just as likely to; or even twice as likely to combust in a Tesla chances are the only car I'd be safer in is a Volvo.
    - piva00 4y ago
      No one was talking about comparing general car safety, the discussion was specifically around car fires on ICE vs Tesla EVs for relatively newer vehicles. I don't understand why you went on this diatribe about general safety...
    - kajecounterhack 4y ago
      I'm still confused, I thought we were responding to this comment: `So, your Tesla is actually less likely to catch on fire than a regular ICE car.` << this assertion is not supported by the named statistic, that's all we are saying here. > for those risks (like getting into an accident with a drunk driver), Tesla is already top of the class I guess while we're here, I don't know if that's easy to back up either. Overall fatality rates vs other models show a complicated story.
    - kaba0 4y ago
      It is ain’t so safe if it swerves into oncoming traffic due to its shitty “fsd feature”.
stephen_g 4y ago
The one person I know whose car caught fire, it was a fairly new Toyota RAV4 - probably three or four years old at the time. They were driving on a highway, saw smoke from under the bonnet (hood), pulled over and within a few minutes the whole thing was on fire!
Normille 4y ago
An even better comparison would also distinguish between differently fuelled ICEs. A diesel powered car is much less likely to catch fire than a petrol one. And, as previous commenter points out, age comes into the mix too. I used to be involved in the old VW camper van scene. Due to the age of those vehicles, it was generally advised to replace all the rubber fuel lines on those when buying a petrol engined one, as so many people had had engine bay fires because of perished rubber piping.

Many of those ICE registered vehicles are 10 or more years old. A better comparison may be to limit the comparison to vehicles of the same age as the oldest Tesla.

cute_boi 4y ago

Are older vehicles likely to get fire?

xxs 4y ago
poor maintenance would be the most common reason, e.g a lose hose. Then you have to compare the class of the vehicles, Tesla ones are likely to be the more expensive ones.
fingerlocks 4y ago
Yes, especially if they have old rubber fuel hoses (Volkswagen).
tobijkl 4y ago
Most of the car fires I have heard of are caused by incorrectly installed auxiliary components due to incorrect fuses and unsuitable cable diameters. This is a phenomenon that probably does not affect Tesla at all.

mgoetzke 4y ago

I thought that too until I (as a former/current BMW driver) saw how many new BMWs burned down. What I found most interesting is how e.g the Korea recall did not even register on any of our German newspapers or news agency in any way comparable to Tesla (there where some really small footnotes to be fair) https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/14/news/companies/bmw-korea-fire-recall/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/14/news/companies/bmw-korea-fi... https://abcnews.go.com/Business/bmw-mystery-fires-abc-news-investigation/story?id=47335778 https://abcnews.go.com/Business/bmw-mystery-fires-abc-news-i...

kajecounterhack 4y ago
Wait how does this anecdote change the need to compare apples to apples? Also, if anything this anecdote highlights why this comparison is so poor. What if BMWs are responsible for all the ICE car fires? Why wouldn't Tesla compare against the safest or biggest automaker's stats then, to know if they're doing well? E.g. Toyota?
- nemothekid 4y ago
  >Wait how does this anecdote change the need to compare apples to apples? Because when you get into a car there are a lot more risks than it spontaneously combusting; and for those risks (like getting into an accident with a drunk driver), Tesla is already top of the class; almost as safe as a Volvo. So is 7 in the last four days a lot; and am I in more danger in a Tesla, when accounting for other risks? If I am just as likely to; or even twice as likely to combust in a Tesla chances are the only car I'd be safer in is a Volvo.
  - piva00 4y ago
    No one was talking about comparing general car safety, the discussion was specifically around car fires on ICE vs Tesla EVs for relatively newer vehicles. I don't understand why you went on this diatribe about general safety...
  - kajecounterhack 4y ago
    I'm still confused, I thought we were responding to this comment: `So, your Tesla is actually less likely to catch on fire than a regular ICE car.` << this assertion is not supported by the named statistic, that's all we are saying here. > for those risks (like getting into an accident with a drunk driver), Tesla is already top of the class I guess while we're here, I don't know if that's easy to back up either. Overall fatality rates vs other models show a complicated story.
  - kaba0 4y ago
    It is ain’t so safe if it swerves into oncoming traffic due to its shitty “fsd feature”.

stephen_g 4y ago

The one person I know whose car caught fire, it was a fairly new Toyota RAV4 - probably three or four years old at the time. They were driving on a highway, saw smoke from under the bonnet (hood), pulled over and within a few minutes the whole thing was on fire!

Normille 4y ago

An even better comparison would also distinguish between differently fuelled ICEs. A diesel powered car is much less likely to catch fire than a petrol one. And, as previous commenter points out, age comes into the mix too. I used to be involved in the old VW camper van scene. Due to the age of those vehicles, it was generally advised to replace all the rubber fuel lines on those when buying a petrol engined one, as so many people had had engine bay fires because of perished rubber piping.